The Bodhi Tree of the Toyo-kofu Monument
On 29th November 2015, Soka Gakkai President Minoru Harada together with the SGI Youth Delegation and over 200 BSG members commemorated the eternal vow of mentor and disciple at the Tree of Toyo-kofu Monument planting ceremony at Soka Bodhi Tree Garden. President Harada said that the commemorative plaque of Toyo-kofu was buried in Bodhgaya (where Shakyamuni is said to have attained enlightenment) by Ikeda Sensei in 1961 immediately after his inauguration as third President of Soka Gakkai. This was a manifestation of Sensei’s deep vow to realise kosen-rufu in Asia, which was the will of his mentor, Toda Sensei. In that sense, President Harada said, “The Toyo-kofu monument is the prime and starting point of the shared vow between mentor and disciples for worldwide kosen-rufu”. The transfer of this monument to the Soka Bodhi Tree Garden is, he said, “a historic turning point proclaiming the new era of Kosen-rufu”. He urged that “each one of us gathered here today must deeply pledge to begin a fresh struggle of mentor and disciple, just as Ikeda Sensei did when he buried the monument in Bodhgaya and strive onwards towards the further expansion of kosen-rufu.” Soka Gakkai has announced the adoption of the new liturgy of Gongyo so as make further strides in becoming what President Harada described as “a global religion”. “We have also revised the Soka Gakkai rules and regulations to clarify the fact that the 3rd president, Ikeda Sensei, is the ‘eternal mentor’”, he said. President Harada described BSG members as trailblazers and said that it is here that the prime point of the shared vow of mentor and disciple for kosen-rufu in Asia and the world lies. He concluded, “Based on this resolve, let us together advance with pride towards the summit of a new in high spirits.”
